Black water odor while driving

[Dcarm1]

A bit off topic but how do I pose a question about replacing the discharge hose on a 2013 Roadtrek RS Adventurous? My hose cracked and leaked black water into hose storage area under rig.

[JimDavisHouston]

Before you go crazy with searching, and tearing things apart, slowly pour some water down the sinks. Sometimes the traps go empty, and the smell comes up from the Grey Water tank. Shower drains may do this too.

[GallenH]

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I'm not sure if the problem is resolved but filling the overflow tube per Markopolo's suggestion has helped quite a bit. I
don't get an odor in the bathroom until I lift the lid and now I have to have my nose in the bowl to get any smell. There might have always been slight odor that I wasn't aware of..........since my nose usually doesn't like to spend it's time there.

I always drain black water the morning after I return from a short trip. And I did this time. I also use a hose/wand down the toilet and spend a fair amount of time flushing the tank. It may be that when it fills again on our next trip, the smell will return. We'll see.

[Lazy Bones]

I always leave a little water in the toilet after I flush it. Not a lot just a little. I’ve never had a smell in my unit.

[achan63]

do you have a plug for your sink or shower drain? that would prevent the smell coming back up. but you should add water back into each trap due to evaporation as well

[JimDavisHouston]

I always drop a few dish washing pods down the drains too. Break em open, and follow with a little water to wash it down. Keeps the odors down.

[Davydd]

Dropping deoderizers in sinks and drains to the grey tank or same in the toilet black tank don't stop smells. They just make the smells different. I'll leave that up to you but I think they make the smells ickier and creep up on you because you didn't take better precautions in the first place.

[JimDavisHouston]

Didn't take better precautions? Besides flushing regularly, and keeping a non-foaming detergent in the tank, what would be "better precautions?"

[avanti]

Originally Posted by JimDavisHouston

Didn't take better precautions? Besides flushing regularly, and keeping a non-foaming detergent in the tank, what would be "better precautions?"

Finding and fixing the leak in the plumbing system. No chemicals are either necessary nor effective.

If your bathroom at home smelled, you would conclude that there was a sewer pipe leak and you would call a plumber. The same conclusion applies in your rig.

[JimDavisHouston]

Understood, but in my case, I have no leaks, and no odor. I've thrown detergent pods in my tanks for years. No odor during Grey draining either.

[Dcarm1]

Has anyone replaced their waste hose on roadtrek adventurous? Mine broke and I need to replace it. Are their options other that the one that comes on the roadtrek? I have a 2013 RS Adventurous. Do I need to remove the hose compartment under the van?

[bmwhacker]

No one has mentioned the use of "Tank Deodorant Chemical". I would imagine you are using some. (?)

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by GallenH

... Thetford claims the toilet has been "newly redesigned" on their site. Anyone know what that means? .....

I may have discovered part (or all) of this claimed "redesign". See this permalink here for elaboration and a picture if interested (there are multiple threads on multiple forums about this same issue).

TL;DR - Thetford appears to have re-cast the interstices of the toilet so that it will retain less of the waste that is sloshed up into it. They seem to have engaged in this band-aid form of madness rather than fixing the problem decisively. There were no other changed features that I could identify from looking at the store display model.

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by JimDavisHouston

Understood, but in my case, I have no leaks, and no odor. I've thrown detergent pods in my tanks for years. No odor during Grey draining either.

It isn’t the detergent pods that eliminate odor. It is a proper seal and keeping your bathroom clean. Think about it. Your grey tank gets constant detergent from washing and cleaning, yet if you let a trap go, you will get a foul smell.

[SteveJ]

I'm also working through the odor issue but with a foot flush Aqua Magic V, about two years old.

The Dometic 300 appears to be too tall for my installation in a 200 Versatile. There is a cabinet on the back wall that will be inaccessible with a toilet any taller than the AM V.

Options appear to replace with a new toilet every couple of years, lose access to the cabinet, go to a porta potti option, or live with the stink with a lot of air freshener.

I removed the toilet today to look it over. My attempted fix was to soak the internal black foam seal with both white spray grease and motorcycle drive chain wax type lubricant. I then wrapped a pipe cleaner around the post on the top side and soaked it thoroughly with the spray white grease, enough to leave a lot of grease surrounding the mechanism. We'er heading out soon for a

[GeorgeRa]

For years I use Odorlos chemical and it definitely reduce obnoxious odor. But the key is to maintain negative pressure in black or gray tanks. Having a roof vent acting as chimney is good, having an inline blower is good as well. I have not seen a simple low power electric heater located in the vent line (like an incandescent light bulb) to induce chimney air flow. A vent cap designed to keep low pressure by Bernoulli effect while on the road will help as well. Having any leak will not be solved by negative pressure.

Over many years I stored 4 vehicles in the garage with septic systems:

1. Boat black tank system, never had a problem, but the black tank was always clean.
2. Camper truck, odor inside and outside including in the garage. Cleaning the tank helped. Sold it before solving the problem.
3. RV trailer, no odor issue.
4. Sprinter RV with cassette, no issue.

[GallenH]

GeorgeRa's post reminded me of the vent question I posed in my OP. Has anyone here ever attempted to clean the vent line running up to the roof?
Should I try sending a toilet snake down there or do I risk damage?

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by Dcarm1

Has anyone replaced their waste hose on roadtrek adventurous? Mine broke and I need to replace it. Are their options other that the one that comes on the roadtrek? I have a 2013 RS Adventurous. Do I need to remove the hose compartment under the van?

Sorry to let you know this... but, I had my hose replaced on my 2012 about 18 months or so. ... mine cracked...it happens....

It's a big job....are you prepared to do it yourself??


I took my RV to the shop.... about $1,000.

Make sure you have all the original parts. it's critically important to ensure that it easily fits into the channel. .

Good luck.

[booster]

Originally Posted by Roadtrek Adventuous RS1

Sorry to let you know this... but, I had my hose replaced on my 2012 about 18 months or so. ... mine cracked...it happens....

It's a big job....are you prepared to do it yourself??


I took my RV to the shop.... about $1,000.

Make sure you have all the original parts. it's critically important to ensure that it easily fits into the channel. .

Good luck.

$1000 to replace a waste hose?????? You have got to be kidding as that would indicate about 10 hours of labor.

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by Roadtrek Adventuous RS1

Sorry to let you know this... but, I had my hose replaced on my 2012 about 18 months or so. ... mine cracked...it happens....

It's a big job....are you prepared to do it yourself??


I took my RV to the shop.... about $1,000.

Make sure you have all the original parts. it's critically important to ensure that it easily fits into the channel. .

Good luck.

4 hours labor @ $130 per hour---- $520
Parts ------------------$250
Tax----------------------$ 24

Total---------------. $794

So ... just about $800